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Hurricanes Web Assignment

Access the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Create-A-Cane site here, or copy and paste this address into your browser http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/games/canelab.htm. Follow the instructions below to answer the questions.

Use this interactive game to create a “perfect storm.” Go through and adjust the atmospheric conditions to produce a powerful hurricane. If you get the conditions perfect, you will get a score of 80 and the simulation will prompt you to answer a few questions. If you go on to answer the questions correctly, you can boost your score to 100. It may take you several attempts to get your perfect storm and you do not need to report your score. Use the help buttons to understand how each factor contributes to the formation of the storm. Once you are satisfied with your score, answer the questions below. Copy and paste the questions into a word document. Once you have answered all the questions, save the document using your last name and student ID as the file name and upload to Blackboard for grading.

1. What types of winds were required in each level of the atmosphere? Describe the wind speed and direction at each level.

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2. Why is it critical that all levels blow in the same direction to form a tropical storm? What happens when you have lower winds blowing a different direction than upper winds?

3. It seems intuitive that stronger winds would be better for forming a hurricane. Why is this not the case?

ES 1010, Earth Science 3

4. What was the ideal latitude range for the formation of the tropical storm? Why?

1. Given that tropical storms/hurricanes require high moisture and temperatures, why can’t tropical storms form at the equator (0 degrees latitude), where temperatures and moisture are generally very high?

2. What moisture level was required for each of the atmospheric layers?

3. Why is moisture critical to form a hurricane?

4. How did the sea temperature affect your score? Why?

5. Which of the above factors seem to make the biggest difference in your score and why?

6. Explain why hurricanes dissipate so quickly once they make landfall.

Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.